


Reaching

by Anmaje



Category: Life of the Party D&D (Web Series)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:40:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25117057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anmaje/pseuds/Anmaje
Summary: A nice chat between friends about the endless universe above them, as fate spins their souls together.
Kudos: 11





	Reaching

**Author's Note:**

> It's short, but I had to get some existential thoughts out there, so here ya go.

The winter night is cold, whether you’re in Shadebourne or Erran, the winter nights are always going to be unsettling cold. It was a cloudless night, cold yes, but cloudless. The stars stared down at the world below, steady asleep, but that winter night somebody stared back.

Pandora couldn’t sleep. Going back from a mission to pay back some of the debt she and her friends had gathered was a cold ordeal that the sun soaking tiefling never enjoyed. The adrenaline of the mission had left, and the night was long and cold. As she shivered and looked to the stars, she suddenly felt so small. Last night they had had a dream again, it again ended with poor Damianos’ death, and it was even more disturbing as they couldn’t just go check on him this time. The morning was panicky from both her friends and her, packing up their camp as quickly as they could and saddling up on the horses. Icarus had been freaking out most of the day, and Pandora was also incredibly worried, but Icarus’ endless stream of “what if”s did not help. Mayes had tried their best at calming the two of them down, but it only ended with Pandora requesting rather loudly that Icarus should shut his mouth. They had ridden in silence since, and only when the sun started getting low did Mayes speak up to say that they shouldn’t travel at night.

Pandora felt really terrible. Icarus had every right to be worried, as was she and Mayes. She had just lost her temper and didn’t really think before she opened her mouth. Unfortunately she couldn’t apologize now, Icarus was sleeping, so as she couldn’t do that, she looked at the sky. The constellations formed above her, she knew a few that Persephone had pointed out to her when they were younger, and so she had pointed them out to Penelope. Their mom had always stroked their cheeks, connecting dots and making up constellation names, and the thought of somebody getting to do that to the night sky baffled Pandora, but at least it made her feel more at ease underneath the endless sky. She couldn’t help herself but to stretch out a hand to the stars trying to connect the little specks of light, but before her arm had shot up all the way, she heard a yelp from beside her.

“Oh it was just your arm. Don’t scare me like that Pandora!” Icarus sounded slightly shaken, “Oh I’m sorry! I didn’t think you were awake, I was just reaching, and I’m really sorry if I frightened you.” She was stumbling over her words again, it was hard apologizing for something without apologizing for earlier that day. “I thought you were asleep too,” Icarus murmured before Mayes yawned “And I was asleep.” Pandora winced at her mistake again. “Sorry Mayes!” “Yeah sorry, didn’t mean to wake you Mayes.” Icarus agreed. Mayes shook their head “can’t you two just talk now then? If I wake up tomorrow with a split team I might as well wave goodbye to the final task and go back home.” Mayes turned away from the two of them as Icarus reassured them, “Don’t say that! We’ll talk okay? Right Pandora?” “Of course!” Mayes nodded their head “I know, I know” they yawned while rolling a shoulder backwards to relieve their... pain.

As Mayes tried to sleep on Pandora's left, she glanced to her right, Icarus was looking at the sky too. “It’s really something isn’t it?” Icarus whispered, not taking his eyes of the stars above. “You feel so insignificant when looking up. Makes me wonder what the strings of fate want with us, we’re nothing in the grand scheme of things.” Pandora was intrigued as she had never heard Icarus talk about their involvement with the ladies of fate like that, “that’s really philosophical Icarus.” He giggled “I guess it is, huh?” He was smiling, first of the day. Pandora hated when Icarus wasn’t smiling, or unhappy, so to see the familiar expression on his face again was a relief. “I’m sorry that I shouted,” Pandora apologized. “It’s alright,” he forgave her, “I guess fate makes us all a little panicked.” That calmed Pandora, he wasn’t as mad as she thought he would be. They looked at the sky together, it felt closer, like it was reaching for them, or begging them to do so. Pandora didn’t reach again, she wasn’t scared, it just felt strange to let the stars lead her hand towards the darkness above them. Icarus did reach up. “I wonder what it’s like to touch a star?” he stated before looking at Pandora as if she knew exactly that. “Do you think they’re small or giant?” she asked instead of answering, she locked eyes with him, he glanced up “I don’t know,” he was intimidated by the vastness above. “I think they’re like the sun,” Mayes suddenly said. Icarus and Pandora turned their heads in interest and Mayes continued, “They seem so far away, but their light is so bright, they must be like the sun.” Mayes had also turned their gaze to the night sky. Pandora thought aloud, “well that’s rather comforting.” She looked up again. “How so? It’s a burning flame in the sky,” Icarus sounded perplexed as he turned his head to look directly at Pandora, she looked at him and explained, “well it brings life doesn’t it? If the stars are suns it means that it’s always day somewhere.” “I mean that is true,” Mayes agreed, “but I don’t think reaching for suns is a wise decision.” Icarus laughed as he returned his gaze to the night sky, “no, maybe not… but I still wonder...”

As the three friends looked at the universe above them, stretching endlessly with no intent on stopping, something within them fell into its place. Fate had taken interest in the souls of these three individuals, but for whatever reason they couldn’t be certain. Maybe they shone a little brighter than most, it could have been written in the weave of the world, a mere play of odds or perhaps they were just in the right place at the right time… or wrong place at the wrong time. One thing is certain though, as they spoke of stars and suns, and debating whether to reach up or not, they all felt their strings intertwine in a spin of fate and destiny that you can’t really put into words. They fell asleep under that neverending night sky, filled with specks of light and mystery, having more questions than they had answers, but at least they had each other, and the gods may know that they would need just that.


End file.
